Entrepreneurs for Free Enterprise Condemns Facebook’s

“Suppression” of Conservatives and Right-Leaning Media Outlets

The group of concerned entrepreneurs expresses concern for the platform’s censorship of Conservative views and opinions in advance of the mid-term elections and Senate Judiciary Hearings around Cambridge Analytical on April 10th

Rockville, MD – March 28, 2018 –The Entrepreneurs for Free Enterprise (EFFE), a leading group of business owners dedicated to ensuring a free and fair electoral and political process for all Americans, announces today its condemnation of Facebook for its blatant suppression of Conservative views throughout its platform, particularly escalating as the mid-term elections approach.

This seeming desire the leading social networking platform has for its users to be “ignorant and compliant” is at the center of the recent uncovering of the censorship of Conservative and Conservative-leaning individuals and publishers. These activities are literally enabling Facebook to push its own Liberal agenda in the name of “community” and rob its users of the objectivity and availability of free speech and information under the First Amendment to the Constitution.

A recent article by The Daily Caller details a number of shocking changes Facebook made over a period of 8 days in January, 2018 to its algorithms, in a seeming attempt to alter the information users are seeing and exposed to in their own dedicated newsfeeds. In particular, it is noted that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg made not one, but two key changes to its algorithms that were undertaken with the goal of benefiting specific media outlets and taking traffic, hiding information, and suppressing opinions from others. These changes were made all the more concerning when it was found that the information being both suppressed and boosted is laden with political overtone and implication, with Conservative individuals and publishers being hardest hit and most affected.

The process by which supposed “trusted sources” were determined was through a generic, informal, and highly subjective survey of users by Facebook, comprised of two questions (1. Whether they had heard of a website (‘yes/no’) and 2. How much they trusted each (‘entirely’ to ‘not at all’). This information was then used in apparent combination with Facebook executives’ own opinions to boost “quality” news sources, even if they lacked large-scale name recognition and visibility and thus would have had poor survey results. Facebook’s Campbell Brown indicated this disturbing overstep of power and control while speaking at a tech conference last month.

Details around the changes include:

Rapid cuts to news articles’ share of the newsfeed from 5% to 4% over the next several months; and

Conscious boosting of certain “trusted” news outlets and the suppression of others, which appeared “less trustworthy” sources according to a statement made by Zuckerberg directly. This obviously subjective judgment appears to have been made at the high level within Facebook and without consent or even awareness from individual users.

According to an analysis of Facebook engagement data by The Outline from research tool BuzzSumo, Conservative and other identified right-wing publishers, including Fox News, Breitbart, and Gateway Pundit, dropped as much as 55% in their engagement totals for February, 2018 as a result of these changes – while the engagement figures for largely liberal publishers were essentially unchanged and unaffected.

“This suppression of information, as well as the blatant partisanship Facebook is demonstrating in its censorship of certain information and agenda to push other facts and news to its users instead violates everyone’s 1st Amendment rights. This issue also highlights the disturbing and insidious power these large social media platforms have in our lives and to shape our minds and thoughts,” EFFE Steering Committee Member, Robyn Sachs said. “Not only is Facebook violating our freedom of speech, press, and information, these efforts show that we as Americans are being manipulated – largely without our knowledge and definitely our consent- on platforms like Facebook that we formerly trusted to connect with friends and colleagues and share information about our lives. This must stop and it is critical we make our government aware of this issue!.”

Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, has been invited alongside Google CEO, Sundar Pichai, and Twitter CEO, Jack Dorsey, to testify on the data mining/privacy scandal involving Cambridge Analytical at a congressional hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee, set for April 10, 2018.

Entrepreneurs for Free Enterprise is an organization founded in 2012 to educate the general public on the major issues surrounding the Presidential Election. Entrepreneurs for Free Enterprise organization takes it upon themselves to make sure that citizens are told the entire story to allow them to make an educated vote in November’s election with all the facts in front of them. For additional information on Entrepreneurs for Free Enterprise, please contact info@entrepreneursforfreeenterprise.org. General information can be obtained by accessing the organization’s web site at www.effe4usa.org, the organization’s Twitter page at @EFFE4USA or the organization’s Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/EFFE4USA.

Last Thursday, December 11, was the first Maryland Board of Elections meeting since the 2014 Mid-Term Elections, and some important developments transpired. Among the most significant are positive changes coming from the MVA related to Voter Registration.

Per Philip Dacey, Esq., Director of External Affairs for the MVA, starting in January of 2015, people registering to vote will input their own selections rather than have a MVA clerk enter them, as they do now. Also, the first question to come up on that touchscreen will be “Are You a US Citizen?” with the response choices being ‘Yes’ or ‘No,’ reminding that person that only US Citizens are eligible to vote in Federal and State Elections. This is important because in the last election we had multiple reports of non-citizens voting or non-citizens receiving active registrations to vote. Of course, legislation that would require Proof of Citizenship would be preferable- but considering we haven’t even passed Voter ID in Maryland yet, this latest development is definitely a step in the right direction.

The Montgomery County Board of Elections (MC BOE) also testified about the Voter Registration Audit they are requesting from the State. Mary Ann Keeffe, President of the MC BOE, spoke and it is good to see MC taking these issues seriously, hopefully other Counties will follow suit. Not surprisingly, the MD Board members tried to shoot this effort down, saying MC BOE’s concerns could be addressed in the 3-Year Annual MVA Audit scheduled for August 2015. Since the request from MC went straight to the Legislative Committee we will have to keep an eye on this to see what happens next. The MD BOE really doesn’t have the power to stop the Audit if the Legislative branch approves it. Stay tuned on more updates on this subject.

There has also been some talk about Same Day Registration and Voting, which would not be provisional, and this seemed to surprise even the Chair of the MD BOE. We will have to keep an eye out for exactly what is approved. Online Voting also seems to be “coming soon” and of course all of these initiatives only make voter fraud easier…

The Maryland Voter Alliance is currently working on Bills for this Legislative Session including Voter ID, Better Voter Registration practices to keep ineligible people off the Active Voter Rolls, and receiving approval for Maryland to participate in the Interstate Crosscheck. Going forward we will let you know which of these Bills are approved on our end and which Delegates will be sponsoring the Bills.

Finally, a BIG Shout Out to Sandy Tuttle, Lynda Del Castillo, and Lewis Porter for giving great testimony about their experiences during the Mid-Term Elections. I really think that hearing first-hand accounts from concerned citizens has a huge impact on the MD, and it also allows us to get our concerns “on the record” to move the ball down the field for better voter integrity moving forward.

Entrepreneurs for Free Enterprise Announces the Launch of the Maryland Voter Alliance

Group will be dedicated to ensuring fraud-free elections at every level – local, state, and federal- and joins a growing number of voter integrity groups nationwide

ROCKVILLE, MD – December 9, 2014 – Entrepreneurs for Free Enterprise (EFFE), as part of its continued commitment to fighting for free and fair elections across the county and for the preservation of the essential founding freedoms the United States, announces today that it has formed a voter integrity organization, The Maryland Voter Alliance, to continue to focus its efforts on stamping out voter fraud in elections at every level, from local to state to federal. The launch of this new organization follows EFFE’s continued activism through its partnerships with other leading election integrity groups, including True the Vote and The Virginia Voters Alliance over the past several months. In this capacity, EFFE has remained committed to raising awareness among state boards of elections, the federal government, and the general public about the grave inaccuracies in current electoral systems as well as the wealth of issues that invite fraud, incorrect data on the voter rolls, and confirmed instances of double and non-citizen voting that continue to plague the electoral process and threaten the essential freedoms of all Americans.

The newly-formed Maryland Voter Alliance will establish a dedicated presence and expert team of committed individuals to focus on several key issues at the epicenter of the flaws in the electoral system that are opening the door ever wider to voter fraud, seen in the most recent mid-term elections held earlier this month.

These include, among others:

Confirmed instances of duplicate and interstate voting– as seen in most recent findings by Virginia Voters Alliance, that identified a total of 43,893 duplicate registrations between Maryland and Virginia, with 164 individuals of these actually casting votes in both states in the 2012 Presidential Election.

Non-citizen voting – representing a flagrant violation of federal law that states that only U.S. citizens are eligible to vote, only once per election, in all 50 states. Numerous recent cases of non-citizen voting have occurred, including:

278 confirmed non-citizen votes cast in Virginia, and at least 10 identified non-citizens who cast votes in General and Primary elections in 2012 in Frederick County, MD; and

Countless other non-citizens also remain on the voter rolls, opening the door for potential fraudulent voting activity in the future. This data has been continually presented and subsequently ignored by state boards of elections and the federal government.

Flagrant inaccuracies on the voter rolls, providing the perfect ‘breeding ground’ for voter fraud and “Dirty Elections,” with little to no current oversight to track these occurrences and prevent future infractions. Common causes of ‘dirty’ voter rolls include:

Deceased voters who remain actively registered, some who appear to have cast ballots post-mortem;

Individuals with no history of voting activity for more than two consecutive federal cycles;

Inactive registrations suddenly ‘activated,’

Registrations with incorrect or non-existent addresses;

Underage or felon voters;

Flawed online voter registration systems that lack necessary monitoring and tracking infrastructures to ensure individuals are registering under their own correct name and credentials;

Individuals fraudulently voting as other people via absentee ballot primarily; and

Individuals who have commercial addresses listed as their places of residence.

Dedicating continued, active attention to these persistent issues is at the center of the Maryland Voter Alliance’s founding principle goal and mission, to eradicate voter fraud and preserve free and fair elections for all Americans. As part of this effort, the group will also continue to fight for greater attention to be paid at the state, local, and federal levels to require regulations and institute infrastructures to track and oversee the voter registration process to ensure only eligible individuals are able to be added and to spot and delete ineligible or inaccurate information going forward. As Mary Cramer Wagner, Director of Voter Registration for the Maryland Board of Elections stated in a recent article in The Frederick News-Post on the topic of a current lawsuit alleging that non-citizens who remain registered to vote could influence the outcome of the recent November 4 election “It is ‘possible’ that non-citizens are voting,” Wagner stated. “There is no database that I can or local boards can turn to and say, ‘Aha, Mary Cramer Wagner is not a legal citizen.'”

To correct this serious issue with wide-reaching impacts, the Maryland Voter Alliance is fighting for the passage of Voter ID laws in Maryland as well as for the state to join the free Interstate Crosscheck system sponsored by Kansas that now includes voter registration data from 33 states as an effective method to stamp out inaccuracies on the state’s voter rolls and in so doing, make strides to eradicating overall voter fraud.

“It is essential that Maryland, along with every other state, do a much better job of complying with the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), also known as the ‘Motor Voter’ Act, particularly Section 8, which requires them to review and clean up their voter rolls every year to delete ineligible voters and inaccurate, outdated information,” EFFE Steering Committee Member and Founder of the Maryland Voter Alliance, Robyn Sachs stated. “This is not a well-managed or enforced system at present, and as a result, these grave issues are continuing to take place, inviting fraud and polluting our overall electoral process and outcomes. Dirty rolls produce dirty elections, and we are committed to taking a leading role in the fight to bring fraud-free elections to all Americans! This also begs the question, if voter integrity groups can spot these problems so easily, why can’t the state and local electoral boards?”

Entrepreneurs for Free Enterprise is an organization founded in 2012 to educate the general public on the major issues surrounding the Presidential Election. Entrepreneurs for Free Enterprise organization takes it upon themselves to make sure that citizens are told the entire story to allow them to make an educated vote in November’s election with all the facts in front of them. For additional information on Entrepreneurs for Free Enterprise, please contact info@entrepreneursforfreeenterprise.org. General information can be obtained by accessing the organization’s web site at www.effe4usa.org, the organization’s Twitter page at @EFFE4USA or the organization’s Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/EFFE4USA.

About the Maryland Voter Alliance

The Maryland Voter Alliance is a voter integrity organization launched by Entrepreneurs for Free Enterprise, dedicated to ensuring fraud-free elections for all Americans. The Maryland Voter Alliance remains committed to stamping out fraud and inaccuracies in Maryland’s voter rolls that invite fraudulent activity, and continuing to fight for change and greater integrity to preserve essential American freedoms at the state, local, and federal levels. For more information, please visit the organization’s website at www.marylandvoteralliance.org or the organization’s Twitter page at @MDVoterAlliance.

If you’d like to attend or testify, the information follows. You do need to sign-up to speak by calling Marjorie Roher at 240-777-8525 in advance and you only have 3 minutes.

I will be testifying on reports I’ve had including Non-citizen voting, Inactive registrations becoming “active”, Dead people appearing on the active voter rolls, and overall Non-compliance to NVRA — Section 8. In short, it is way too easy to register to vote in Montgomery County, and almost impossible to get ineligible people off the voter rolls once they are on there.

PLEASE SHARE!

What: Montgomery County Board of Elections Meeting

When: Monday, November 17th at 2:30 pm

Where: 18753 N. Frederick Ave. #210

Gaithersburg, MD 20879

To Testify: Sign up in advance by calling Marjorie Roher at 240-777-8525

True the Vote has recently come out with a great new phone app called VoteStand, the first online election fraud reporting app. VoteStand provides you the online tools and support you need to quickly report suspected election illegalities as they happen. Now you can join with citizens across the country to protect voters’ rights!

Some features of VoteStand include:

Capture incidents of voter fraud in real time

Send photos of the incident

Add a textual description of the incident

Share the location of the incident

Live newsfeed showing reported incidents in real time

VoteStand is free to download and is available for iOS and Android. Download VoteStand today and help restore faith in the American electoral process!

Below is the editorial that Election Integrity Maryland President Cathy Kelleher wrote to the Baltimore Sun in response to Question 2 on the Maryland Ballot:

Dear Editor,

As early voting is upon us, officially ushering in the election season, related issues, such as non-citizen voting, and now, particularly, the question of mail-in ballots, enter phases of critical, tantamount importance.

For example, question #2 on every voter’s ballot in the state of Maryland, while seemingly innocent and simple, actually presents a sinister, very real threat to the future of free and fair elections – as well as dark consequences for the outcomes and processes of our elections, the future of our nation, and the rights upon which it was founded as-stated in the U.S. Constitution.

I implore you and all readers to join us in our strong opposition of mail-only ballots.

With the large number of non-citizen voters already successfully casting ballots in elections due to the lack of physical face-to-face voting procedures, as well as the lack of the requirement to present a government-issued ID to vote in Maryland, the passage of mail-only ballots would only amplify and expand our current problems and discrepancies.

The question, supported by the all-new Election Law §9-501, asks county voters to cast their ballots for a new County Executive as opposed to having them appointed by the local County Council, as is currently done under Maryland law. This law would also make it possible for the vote to be conducted by mail ONLY, making it only accessible to those who receive their ballots by mail vs. walking into a polling place on Election Day. This new provision seeks to allow new County Councilmen and Executives to be elected by mail alone, and also opens the door to the selection of members of Congress as well. Many officials also share the concern that should this be allowed to pass, it may also open the door to potential email voting in the future, with even more grave and drastic consequences.

While we do agree that the County Executive should be elected, we also feel the appointment method may prove to be the most effective way to circumvent the documented, prevalent cases of corruption and fraudulent activity among these individuals, the policymakers themselves.

As anyone scratching the surface of this issue will see, this is not only appalling, but, as it appears an innocent ‘box to check’ on the current ballot, reveals a disturbing agenda by policymakers that seeks to threaten our tradition of electoral freedoms and transparency. Several scenarios pose threats to the success and legality of mail-only ballots, including:

The Maryland voter rolls have thousands of bad, incorrect, and/or false addresses. This would make it nearly impossible to ensure that ballots are distributed accurately and fairly and sent back;

Per Maryland law, there is only one voter list, which includes both active and inactive voters. This means that all on this list would receive ballots, including those who are ‘inactive’ due to death, out of state relocation, or criminal activity/felony incarceration;

Duplicate voting is also very common as a result of provisional ballots. It is a proven fact , despite claims made by the State Boards of Elections, that several voters cast both absentee ballots and vote provisionally in-person at the polls- this has been allowed to continue due to lack of appropriate voter verification systems and capabilities, in an effort to simplify the voting process and attract greater numbers of voters;

Mail-only could be lost in the mail, or arrive late, which would render the voter unable to participate and negate the entire process;

The significant potential for malicious interception of ballots while in transit to allow fraudulent voting activity to take place in others’ names (i.e. family members, friends, neighbors, strangers even who are able to gain access to another’s mailbox), without them ever being aware; and

There is a serious lack of ability and/or systems to monitor and verify the mail-only ballots being cast, to ensure they are submitted by the individuals whose names appear on the address labels.

This issue of mail-in ballots, and the significant potential for fraud they introduce into our electoral system, though of local significance to us in the Washington, DC region, is, sadly, not uncommon, with many other instances of illegal activity stemming from them taking place in other states, particularly Colorado. For example:

In Colorado, anyone can print a ballot online and mail it in, resulting in such alarming incidences of fraud the activities have been termed “Franken-Fraud;”

James O’Keefe, from the Project VERITAS Action Fund, went undercover in Colorado and shot a video, titled “Colorado Voter Fraud – “Ghetto” Politics” that shows exactly what we should fear;

Reliance on the post office to deliver ballots in a timely fashion is a concern, and the recycle centers being a pick-up point for discarded ballots, as is currently happening in Colorado, could become a cottage industry; and

The overwhelming lack of control in nursing facilities, hospitals and retirement centers is going to skyrocket, which opens the door ever-wider to ongoing, voter fraud.

These are issues every American citizen, regardless of age, creed, ethnicity, or belief system, should stand up and take notice of – don’t allow a seemingly-benign box on a ballot allow you to unknowingly surrender your essential freedoms.

Submits specific details on non-citizens that cast votes in Frederick County, Maryland to the State Board of Elections for follow-up, prosecution

ROCKVILLE, MD – October 22, 2014 – Election Integrity Maryland announces today that it is continuing to fight non-citizen voting and asks for follow-up and action by local authorities. Non-citizen voting poses a critical threat to free and fair elections within the state and nation at large. In October 2014, Election Integrity Maryland officials submitted specific names and addresses to the Maryland Board of Elections as a follow-up action for identified non-citizen individuals who cast votes in recent elections in Frederick County and who also remain on the voter rolls, despite their non-citizenship status. Examination of a brief segment of the larger data, collected by the Frederick County Jury Commissioner, revealed continually-appalling statistics around this issue, including:

10 identified non-citizens who cast votes in General and Primary elections in 2012;

6 additional non-citizens whose names remain on the current voter rolls despite their ineligibility. The lack of attention to remove them could result in these non-citizens being summoned to serve on juries and/or permitted to cast votes in future elections, including the upcoming 2014 Mid-Term Election, if urgent attention is not paid and action taken.

Recent data submitted by another leading election integrity organization, Virginia Voters Alliance, also detailed 278 non-citizens who actively cast votes in recent elections in Virginia. This recent case, following the previous announcement of the confirmed 164 double voters out of 43,893 potential duplicate voters that have also participated in election processes, have continued to go unnoticed and largely ignored by Attorney General Eric Holder and the Fairfax County Prosecutor’s office.

This latest news, particularly the startling numbers just out of Frederick County, presents clear evidence of voter fraud and proven cases of non-citizen voting activity, which holds significant potential to threaten outcomes and the integrity of our overall electoral process. Further, the refusal of action taken by appropriate authorities sharpens larger concern, namely that voting eligibility is limited to U.S. citizens only is the current law in all 50 states.

The latest developments in the disturbing issue of non-citizen voting activity also put the lack of investigation and prosecution at the federal level into sharp perspective. Non-citizen voting activities are in direct violation of the “Federal Prosecution of Election Offenses” handbook written by the Department of Justice’s Public Integrity Section. In fact, “falsely claiming to be a citizen on a voter registration form,” the exact offense noted above, actually violates three federal statues, 42 U.S.C. §1973gg-10(2), 18 U.S.C. §1015(f), and 18 U.S.C. §911. Violations of each of these are felony infractions, punishable by imprisonment of up to three or five years, depending on the specific statute. In addition, “actual voting” by a non-citizen, known to be the case for at least 10 individuals recently reported in Frederick County and 117 individuals in the above Virginia example, violates 18 U.S.C. §611 and is a strict liability offense. Otherwise stated, it “does not require proof that the offender was aware that citizenship is a prerequisite to voting.” Violations are misdemeanors punishable by up to one year in prison.

Most alarming of all in this recent example is the complete lack of interest by the Justice Department in investigating and prosecuting these nearly 300 cases of potential felony violations of federal law, which should be the primary focus and mission of the Department’s activities.

“We proudly join Virginia Voters Alliance and other integrity groups in the demand for passage of proof of citizenship laws and an update in the reported cases of voter fraud, including the most recent incidences in Frederick County, Maryland and Virginia, which are in clear violation of federal law and our country’s electoral process,” said Cathy Kelleher, President of Election Integrity Maryland. “It is essential that authorities at the state and federal levels take notice of these flagrant acts that threaten our freedoms and the integrity of our voting procedures!”

About Election Integrity Maryland (EIM)

Election Integrity Maryland (EIM) is a non-partisan, non-profit citizen initiative dedicated to upholding free and fair elections. A 501 (c)(4) organization, EIM exists to promote integrity throughout the voting process in Maryland, thereby enhancing the public’s confidence in its voting franchise in local, state and federal elections.EIM seeks to support the efforts of Maryland’s various Boards of Elections in their effort to maintain voter integrity, as well as the interests of Maryland voters. For more information about EIM, please visit: www.ElectionIntegrityMaryland.com

The “Right to Vote Task Force” recently made recommendations that were being considered by the Montgomery County (MD) Council. The lengthy document made 59 recommendations that the Task Force felt would increase voter turnout and participation.

As you will see, the Recommendations include same day voter registration, as well as allowing 16 and 17 year olds and non-citizens to register and vote. Dozens of concerned citizens attended a hearing in September to voice their strong opposition. Although the hearing was recorded and set to be broadcast, it has not yet been posted to the County Council’s website. The two-part DVR copy of the public hearing can be found here and here.

Please plan to attend the follow up work session currently scheduled for 2pm on Monday, October 13 at 100 Maryland Avenue, 7th Floor, in Rockville. There will not be an opportunity to speak at this session but citizens are encouraged to attend to stay informed about what is being discussed regarding possible changes to Montgomery County and Maryland election law. If you cannot attend, you can send an email to: county.council@montgomerycountymd.gov. Please note that correspondence sent to this email will become part of the official public record.

For information on the County Council Agenda and Hearings, please visit

The Virginia Voters Alliance recently put out a release announcing that 278 non-citizen voters have been referred to the Fairfax County Prosecutor’s office and Attorney General Eric Holder for voter fraud. You can read the entire release below:

Virginia Voters Alliance Demands Investigation, Prosecution

of 278 Non-Citizen Voters

Calls for passage of Proof of Citizenship legislation to preserve integrity in overall electoral processes

CHANTILLY, VA – October 8, 2014 – Following last month’s announcement of the confirmed 164 double voters out of 43,893 duplicate registrations with Maryland,Virginia Voters Alliance announces today that 278 non-citizen voters have been referred to the Fairfax County Prosecutor’s office and Attorney General Eric Holder for voter fraud. This news is a part of a much larger issue of grave national concern – non-citizen voting that has continued to occur, threatening the integrity of our electoral process.

On June 1, 2014 Hans van Spakovsky published an article in The Daily Signal that details the specific instances of non-citizen voting in Virginia and underscores the lack of prosecution and attention paid to these violations of state and federal law by the Fairfax County Prosecutor’s Office and Attorney General, Eric Holder. Using records obtained from the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), van Spakovsky, a former member of the Fairfax County Electoral Board, uncovered 278 registered voters who were able to participate in the recent elections, all of whom told the DMV that they were not U.S. citizens when they completed documentation to receive their driver’s licenses. Further, this entire group of 278 non-citizen voters were given the opportunity to confirm their citizenship prior to the cancellation of any of their illegal registrations – which none did. At least half of these individuals, about 117 non-citizen voters, then were found to have actively voted in both state and federal elections.

The latest developments in the disturbing issue of non-citizen voting activity also put the lack of investigation and prosecution at the federal level into sharp perspective. The activities by the 278 non-citizen voters identified in Virginia are in direct violation of the “Federal Prosecution of Election Offenses” handbook written by the Department of Justice’s Public Integrity Section. In fact, “falsely claiming to be a citizen on a voter registration form,” the exact offense noted above, actually violates three federal statues, 42 U.S.C. §1973gg-10(2), 18 U.S.C. §1015(f), and 18 U.S.C. §911. Violations of each of these are felony infractions, punishable by imprisonment of up to three or five years, depending on the specific statute. In addition, “actual voting” by a non-citizen, known to be the case for at least 117 individuals in the above Virginia example, violates 18 U.S.C. §611 and is a strict liability offense. Otherwise stated, it “does not require proof that the offender was aware that citizenship is a prerequisite to voting.” Violations are misdemeanors punishable by up to one year in prison.

Most alarming of all in this recent example is the complete lack of interest by the Justice Department in investigating and prosecuting these nearly 300 cases of potential felony violations of federal law, which should be the primary focus and mission of the Department’s activities. Once informed of these instances of non-citizen registration and voting activity in state and federal elections, the key proof into these illegal actions threatening our democratic process seemingly “disappeared into a black hole,” as described by von Spakovsky. The potential ramifications for election outcomes that failure to act on such instances of fraud can bring are significant as elections are often decided by very close margins of votes. In Fairfax County alone, the 2013 Attorney General’s race was decided by fewer than 1,000 votes out of 2.2 million cast; in 2005, the margin was less than 400 votes.

Reagan George, President of the VVA, echoes this call for the passage of proof of citizenship laws in Virginia and across the nation. “These latest developments underscore the critical importance of taking steps to enact proof of citizenship legislation to curb non-citizen voting, and drive attention and legal prosecution at the state and federal levels to prevent such activity from continuing to occur.” George stated. “These issues are essential to preserving our electoral freedoms and ensuring integrity and accuracy in the country’s political and electoral processes. Action must be taken now!”

About the Virginia Voters Alliance (VVA)

Virginia Voters Alliance is an initiative developed by citizens for citizens, meant to inspire and equip volunteers for involvement at every stage of our electoral process. VVA promotes ideas that actively protect the rights of legitimate voters, regardless of their political party affiliation. The Virginia Voters Alliance was formed to provide a trans-partisan, state-wide organization that is devoted to improving the election laws and voting processes in the Commonwealth of Virginia, which would decrease opportunities for voter fraud, and insure open and honest elections for all citizens of Virginia. For more information, please visit www.virginiavotersalliance.com.